Bart Stupak: “yesterday we were on the floor, as it is National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Week, and we were talking about law…”

“yesterday we were on the floor, as it is National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Week, and we were talking about law enforcement and a number of bills we were trying to put forth and pass in this Congress, as we normally do during National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Week. As founder and cochair of the Law Enforcement Caucus, I spend a lot of time on law enforcement issues. In fact, tomorrow at 3:30 in the Longworth Building, the Law Enforcement Caucus will be meeting to talk about pending legislation we have on body armor and the educational school benefits for those dependents of law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty, the police officers' bill of rights, a number of other issues that the Members would like to bring up to discuss with the Law Enforcement Caucus. Actually, yesterday as we were debating the Visclosky bill, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act, H.R. 2829, which overwhelmingly passed this House; we talked a lot about what happens with police officers, and I mentioned a case which happened back in 1974 when I was a police officer. Unfortunately, at that time, we did not know and the statistic was put forth that about every 2 days we lose a police officer. Up in my northern Michigan rural community, we lost a police officer in Traverse City yesterday.”